


Mirage

by supergeek7



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Angst, Bucky Barnes & Tony Stark Friendship, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Civil War Fix-It, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Torture, Inhuman Reader (Marvel), Inhumans (Marvel), M/M, Mutant Reader, POV First Person, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Psychological Torture, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29121252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supergeek7/pseuds/supergeek7
Summary: When two strange men show up at your job, you run, right into Hydras arms. When you finally get out, you have no idea what they did to you in there. The Avengers help you figure it out.After civil war, Tony, Steve, and Bucky are friends, and pietro is still aliveY/N will end up with one of the avengers, it’s gunna be a while though 😉
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Reader, Clint Barton/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, Loki (Marvel)/Reader, Natasha Romanov (Marvel) & Reader, Pietro Maximoff/Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader, Thor (Marvel)/Reader, Vision (Marvel)/Reader, Wanda Maximoff/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	1. They Found Me

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry im bad at summaries, I will post more (probably) everyday .  
> Also italics means thinking to yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y/N means - your name, for all my first time readers, welcome.

Chapter 1

 _So some people think being a mutant is the coolest thing ever, you get to be an avenger, and beat up bad guys, you know the whole shebang. No, I was born a freak. I was about 10 when my powers started manifesting. Mom freaked out! So when I turned 12 I ran away, I thought it would be easier for my mom if I wasn't there to mess everything up._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
You wake up with a start, “Damn it I'm late again!!!” You yell, _if I'm late one more time I'm gonna get fired_. You quickly grab a shower, put on your fancy shirt, skirt, pick up your favorite shoes, grab a poptart, and run out the door, only to run back in to get your purse, and you're off again. _Good job Y/N,_ You think to yourself.

You have an agreement with the owner of the coffee shop you work at, you work your ass off and they pay you in cash, they don't mind that you’re vague about your life, or that you don't use your real name. You quickly get a cab to Puzzles and go around back to get your uniform, _they decided to use the pink aprons this time ew, at least my outfit kinda matches_ , you think before talking to your boss.

“I am so sorry that I'm late Mr. Mosby, I promise it won't happen again.” you say tying on your apron.

"Don’t make promises you can't keep Alex, and it's ok, just get out there and do your job."

“Thank you so much Mr. Mosby, thank you so much!”

You step out into the crowd and grab a tray and your notepad. “Hey, welcome to puzzles, my name is Alex, what can I get you?” you say to a tallish blond man in a suit, who wears a suit to a coffee shop?

“You’re so pretty, did it hurt when you fell out of heaven?” he says straightening his tie and giving you a sideways smile.

“No, but I broke a nail crawling out of hell, now what do you want to drink?” you bark out, putting your hand on your hip and glaring at him.

“I’ll have a gin and tonic.” He says defeated.

“This is a coffee shop, we don't serve alcohol.”

“This is why I go to bars.” He says to himself. “Fine, I'll have a pumpkin latte!”

“One pumpkin latte coming up.” You say. _Turd Blossom_. You think to yourself while walking away. Why are men such pigs!!

Maybe not all men….. you think heading towards the very handsome, very buff man with piercing blue eyes and a smirk on his plump lips. And his very buff, tall, blond friend, who looks kinda familiar. Have I seen him somewhere before, maybe tv or something??

“Hey, I’m Alex, how are you boys doing today?“

“Very good Alex, thank you, I’ll take a coffee, black.” Says the one with the brunet hair.

“I’ll have the same, thanks.” Says the very blond one. he’s kinda hot…. so is his friend.

“Ok I’ll be right back with your orders”

When you get back they are whispering to each other, looking at you, then whispering again. _That’s odd, I have a bad feeling about them…_

“Hey Lilly can you take these coffees over to the two hot guys over there, they keep looking at me weird.”

“Yeah sure, they do kinda look out of place. But hot….”

“LILLY!!!! You’re engaged!!!!!! What would your fiancé say?!?!”

“Yeah yeah.. I love him. But I’m allowed to go window shopping, I just can’t buy anything.”

“Oh my gosh. Whatever Lilly, can you just take them two black coffee’s, please??”

“Fine!! Ugh!!” Lilly grumbles, taking the coffee’s from you, and walking towards the two cute guys.

A few minutes later, she walks back. “Hey honey, the guys say they want to talk to you, they keep whispering to each other, do you want me to get Mr. Mosby?”

“No I got it, thanks.” You say squeezing her hand. When you walk over to the two guys, they are still whispering, *I don't like this, did they find me, do I have to move again?*

“Hey guys, what's up, my friend said you wanted to talk to me?“

“Yeah” says the blond one. “Do you know a Y/N L/N?”

“Who the hell are you?!?” You say taking a step back. As soon as you step back the brunet stands up, and steps towards you.

As soon as he stood you knew. _THEY’RE WITH HYDRA!!!! RUN!!!_ You turn and run as fast as you can, pushing people out of the way, and yelling goodbye to Lilly. She was my only friend.

As soon as you get to the street you start shifting. At first you turn deep purple and scaly, then from head to toe, you start turning into a tall-ish, muscular, red head woman, very pretty, very strong. You saw her in the coffee shop earlier that week, her order was a black coffee, said her name was Nat. Now your name is Nat.

You finished shifting and started running down the street. You heard them yelling your name, looking for you. *I hope they don't know about my powers*. You think before running right into someone.

“I’m so sorry, are you alright? I’m so so sorry.” You say to the tall, lean, stranger in front of you.

“I’m fine, thank you. Are you alright? You look scared.” he asks holding your shoulders to keep you steady

“Yeah I'm fine thank you.” You say, then try to take a step back, but his hands tighten on your arms, keeping you from moving.

“I’m glad.” He says as you feel a pinch in your shoulder. Your eyes dart to your arm, to see a needle in it. You try to push him and turn away, but you get dizzy, and start falling. “It’s nice to finally meet you Mrs. Natasha Romanoff.” He says right before you lose consciousness.

_Shit_

To be continued.


	2. The New Meaning Of Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuck in a Hydra base with nothing to do, what else to do but be tortured and scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING* Torture!

When you wake up, you can’t see, you move slightly only to find that you’re strapped to a chair. _My ass hurts, and it smells like blood in here_. You stay quiet hoping that there is nobody in the room. But as soon as you start listening, you are proven wrong, there’s breathing, a lot of breathing, sounds like at least 5 people. All standing, one in each corner, one in front of me, at least a few feet.

“We know you’re awake darling.” The man in front of you says, as he takes a few steps forward. _Judging by the british accent it's probably the guy with the needle_. “We finally found you Mrs. Romanoff, we’ve only been trying for YEARS!!!" He exclaims angrily, ripping the bag off your head.

When your eyes finally adjust to the light, you see a tall slim man standing in front of you, and a guard in every corner. _I guess I was right… shit._ “I’m sorry, but I don't know who Natasha Romanoff is, or who the hell you are, or what the hell I’m doing here.” You say, trying to stay calm. _I suck at staying calm, think happy thoughts, kittens, books, ice cream, Matt Smith… Matt Smith… stay focused!!_

When the slap came it was sharp, it hurt a lot at first, then it just stung a bit, it made your head jerk to the side. _Owwwwww….. ok that hurt, it's been awhile since I've been slapped, and I can say I haven’t missed the abuse at all._

“You really should focus Mrs. Romanoff. Now, where is the Winter Soldier? I cleared my whole schedule for you, so I have all the time in the world.” The british man said, pulling his trench coat off gingerly. _Why is he wearing a trench coat? Why do all “villains” wear cool suits and coats? At this point it's just tacky_

“Okay, umm.. the Winter Soldier you say, umm…. he’s in New Jersey, yeah, yeah New Jersey." Slap!! _Owww.. yep this will be soooo much fun._ “I don't know who you are, and you obviously have no idea who the hell I am, So I'm going to let you in on a little secret.” You say, then you crook your finger a little, motioning him to come closer. You start whispering to him. “You don't want to mess with me.” At the last word you slam your head into his nose, disorienting him, and making his nose bleed. _Double whammy_

You quickly shift into your true form, violet body, with patterns of darker purple on you, and dark black hair.

As soon as you shift you're able to snake your hands out of the rope holding you to the chair. You flip backwards out of the chair and take a defensive stance, ready to fight every last person in this room.

As soon as you're ready to fight them, you feel an excruciating burning sensation in your abdomen. _OH MY GOD, THEY SHOT ME!!! THOSE BASTARDS SHOT ME, WHAT THE HELL!!!!_ You look down to find a horrifying amount of hot blood dripping down your stomach.

 _I’m going to die, I’m going to die without saying a proper goodbye to Lilly, or seeing the Eiffel tower, or falling in love. I’m going to die, before I can kill these assholes!_ Those are the last few things you think before losing consciousness.  


**Time skip:**

When you finally wake up you are strapped down to a table, in the middle of the room. The trench coat british guy stands a few feet away, talking to a man in a lab coat. _What's with all the coats, seriously HYDRA?_ “I’m awake. And pissed.” You say trying to sit up, it doesn't work of course. “I’m guessing you’ve figured out who I am?” You say, voice dripping with venom.

“Not quite my dear, who are you?” the trench coat british guy asks, walking towards you.

“First of all, it's rude to shoot people you don’t know, and…” you stop yourself and think for a moment. “Why doesn’t it hurt? What did you do?!?” You say starting to panic.

“Oh you know, just a little experiment. Now answer the damn question.” He says taking another step towards you.

“Well if you really want to know…... I am experiment #7860 Y/N L/N, back in hell." You say with a cold smile on your lips. "Hi." This isn't the first time you've played this game with Hydra.

“You’re Y/N L/N?!? He says taking a couple steps back. _Ha he’s afraid, he better be, the things they taught me to do here._

“The one and only. Now what do you want. And who is Natasha Romanoff?” He doesn't answer of course, just smirks. And says,

“My my, do we have plans for you my dear.” Then he walks away. Everybody else leaves the room too. You are alone. _Thank god I’m finally alone. I'm so sorry mom, I know you worked so hard to get me out, and now they found me, I'm so sorry…._ Your thoughts were cut short by a man in a lab coat walking in.

“Hello #7860, I will be your…. caretaker. You can call me Mr. Smith.” he says, and as he says it, you can just tell....... he has really bad breath.

“Oh hey doc. What's up? What’s the plan today, torture, solitude, and no dinner I’m guessing?” you say with fake excitement dripping from your every word.

“Actually I was planning on some happy music and dancing……………. We’re HYDRA dear, we will be starting with some experiments.” _Figures, at least this guy has some sense of humor._

“Bring it on doc, I’ve seen it all, and I'm still kicking, so I must be doing something right.” You say with a smirk.

“Since you got out, obviously we’re doing something wrong.” He says as he walks to the table you're on. When he reaches you he pulls a needle and a vial out of his coat. Putting the needle in the vial, he pulls back the plunger, filling it with a deep red liquid. 

“This is the blood of somebody kind of like you, his powers were exquisite. I think you would have liked him.” He says sticking the needle into your arm and pushing down the plunger.

As soon as the liquid touches your blood, it feels like you’re on fire. It starts in your arm then burns up into your chest and down into your legs. _AHHHHHHHHH I'M GOING TO DIE, AGAIN!?!_ The pain is so great you start seeing spots. 

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?!?!” You scream and writhe in pain.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get over it, I’ll see you soon 7860.” He says as you black out from the pain. Your last thought, _I’m dying, still…._


	3. Who Doesn't Like Running?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Experimentation and alarms, fun times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I decided that Y/N uses they/them pronouns, so anyone can read it, and because they shapeshift. Thank you all so much for the love on chapter one, I thought nobody would like it. I probably wont be able to post a new one every day, but I will post as much as I can. Thank you all, love you
> 
> *WARNING* character pain/ Torture.

When you wake up, you’re on the floor of a cold, pitch black cell. _Thank god, am I alone?_ You listen to hear any breathing, surprisingly there is none. _Huh they left me alone._ When you try to move, you scream out. You are in soooo much pain, you almost black out there and then! Every move you make feels like your whole body is on fire, even breathing hurts.

 _I have no idea how long I’ve been here, or where I am, or what they’re going to do to me_. So you wait it out, you try sitting at one point, only to figure out that that was a horrible mistake. Maybe 4 hours of laying on the floor later, the door opens, flooding the room with light.

“Who the hell are you.” You croak out. You try to force your eyes to adjust to the light, so you can see who is in the room with you.

“I am here to check up on you L/N. How is your wound? I brought you water.” says a feminine voice by the door.

“I need to get the hell out of here, can you do that? If not, then I think I’ll just take the water.” Your voice gets weaker and weaker with every word you speak, by the end you are practically whispering.

“I can’t get you out, but I can take a look at your wound, if you will let me. I’ll be right back with fresh bandages, and I will try to bring down your fever. Don't move.” She says, before turning around to leave. As the door closes behind her, you are again drowning in darkness. _Like I could move if I wanted to. Why is she being nice to me? I have a fever??_

Before she can come back, two hydra goons come to get you. Since you are too weak to walk, they drag you down the hall, that's right they’re dragging you down the frickin hall. _When I get my strength back, I’m going to break both of these guys knees for this._ When you get to the lab, they throw you down on the table, and strap you down. _And of course the straps are too tight, they don't want to have to shoot me again, now I’m too precious to shoot._

“Hello 7860. Nice to see that you awake finally. How do you feel today? We have quite a few more tests for you.” Since you're too weak to talk, all you can do is glare at him. You know the drill, you’ve done all of this before, too many times.

When they start all you can think of are the two men from the coffee shop. How tall they were, and how they kept looking at you. And how HYDRA didn't know who you were, but these guys did, maybe they weren't HYDRA. 

Think about those two men where the only thing that kept you alive. The scientists basically dissected you, day after day, they cut you open, took blood, spinal fluid, muscle and tissue samples. They gave you other mutant blood, experimental drugs, forced you to shift, the list goes on and on.

And when they were finally done for the day, all of the energy you had left was spent trying to keep your eyes open, and even that was an uphill battle. You passed out multiple times, while they experimented only to be revived by a swift slap. The same goons drag you back to the cold dark cell when they are done with you. Then Mr. Bad Breath would come in and give you your daily dose of fire blood, then you would pass out from pain for the night.

This goes on for months, you thought you were going to die, everyday. But what you didn't realize was, you were getting stronger, faster, more flexible, and more comfortable with your powers. Every once in a while they would wipe the memory of the last couple weeks, so for you it felt like weeks, but really you’d been there for HALF A YEAR.

It was a normal day, the HYDRA lady came in, gave you food, water, and checked any wounds you might have. Goon One and Two came in, walked you to the lab, laid you down on the table, and walked away. _At least they stopped strapping me down._ Mr. Smith came in and started his tests. This morning was agility, after was weight lifting, then some more fire blood, as you so affectionately call it.

 _The fire blood wasn’t so bad today, maybe they gave me less today, huh, usually it hurt like hell. Huh._ After the fire blood you actually feel better, stronger, faster. As the goons are taking you back to your room, the alarms start going off. The goons look at each other.

“What the hell do we do with her? We’re 10 minutes away from her room?” Goon One says looking around.

“I don't know, look there’s a closet. Shove her in there.” As soon as they say that, you start struggling, trying to get away. After half a year of you walking peacefully with them, they forgot how strong you are. In 6 seconds flat you have one groaning on the floor, in 7 you have the other.

You easily pick up both fully grown men, and stuff them in the closet. _That's weird, I don’t remember being about to do this before._ As soon as you finish tying them together you quickly close and lock the door. You start running down the hallway, away from your prison cell. _Finally. I’m getting out!_

You run down the hallway, and as you’re about to turn the corner, you stop. _Ok, so I don’t know how, but I can hear someone breathing, and walking. What exactly did they do to me?_ You jump on to the ceiling fan. _How the hell did I do that?_ You see a goon walking down the hallway below you. He has two guns, a pistol on his hip, and an AR-15 in his hands. _His helmet covers his whole face, so no ears, or eyes shots, but I can drop down on him, take his pistol, and shoot him with it._

Before you can act on that thought, a man with a metal arm comes running around the corner. _Holy cannoli, it's the hot brunet from Puzzles._ He takes the goon down quickly, then runs off. You of course, being naturally curious, follow him quietly.

After about 10 more minutes of following him, and watching him take down the HYDRA goons, he runs into the Pit, an open space we use to practice shooting, and you notice a red dot on his back. _SNIPER!!!!_ And completely on instinct you dive in front of him. _What the hell am I doing? I don't even know him, oh what the hell..?_ BANG!!! You scream out as you feel the excruciating burning sensation in your chest. _Oh yay, I've been shot, again. Huh, it hurts more to be shot in the chest, shit, shit, shit. At least I saved this random dude….._ You think before blacking out, again.

Bucky's POV:

Cap gives orders to everyone and runs off with the Tin Can as soon as the quinjet lands. He’s always been a punk like that, running off without thinking. I run off to find the prisoner. A few weeks ago we got inside intel that they had the who we are looking for, Y/N I think it was, yeah Y/N L/N, they said they're pretty impressive, they of course told us that they have no idea what they look like. _Not helpful…._

I run down the hallway trying to find them, instead I find a HYDRA agent with an AR-15. Of course it is easy to take him down, I hit him in the face with my metal arm, breaking his helmet, then shot him. As soon as I finished I run down the hallway to look for them, but something didn’t feel quite right, as if someone was watching me. I look around, but if I am being watched, they’re good. After about 10 minutes of taking down agents, I run into a big open room, probably used for training, there are windows lining the walls.

Something is definitely not right, I could feel it. Then some streak comes barreling towards me, then I hear a loud CRACK and she falls screaming to the floor. _Holy hell this woman just took a bullet for me, is this Y/N?? It doesn't matter, she’s bleeding. I need Bruce._ I quickly press on her wound, and yell into the coms.

“Anybody, this is Bucky, I need immediate assistance, I am under fire from a sniper, and I have a woman down. She’s been shot in the abdomen, she needs Banner to stitch her up.” _Where did the shot even come from? And where is Banner, she’s going to bleed out?!_

“This is Banner, I'm on my way, can someone take out the sniper? I don’t particularly want to let the other guy out. Where are you??” I hear in my ear. _He’s not going to get here in time, I have to act now. I am not letting the woman who saved my life die._ I see a glint in one of the many windows, I quickly draw my pistol with one arm, and shoot at the glint. I hear a yell, and know I hit the sniper.

“We’re in the south west corner. I took care of the sniper, Tony, can you pick them up, I left them on the east side of the room. She’s bleeding out, I'm coming to you Banner.” I say then pick her up bridal style and run for the door. _I'm not letting another person die for me._


	4. I've Been Shot, Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up alone and confused in a hospital type room, where are you, and what is going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while, I mashed chapter 4 and 5 together, so it might take me a bit to get the next chapter out. But I'm working on it. love you, thank you for all the support. <3

**Y/N’s POV**

You doze in and out of sleep, every time you wake up a little, you are too tired to open your eyes. You hear patches of conversations.

“She's too weak to wake up right now.”

“We need to talk to her, she has vital information.”

You black out again. The next time you wake up, you hear a familiar voice...

“How is she doing Banner?”

“She shouldn't be doing this well, not for a human, she looks like she got shot 3 week ago, but it's only been 2 days.”

“Is there anything I can do, I mean she saved my life...”

“Right now, there is barely anything I can do, she's doing it all herself.”

You’re unable to stay awake any longer, and pass out again.

**Time skip**

The next time you wake up, you are strong enough to open your eyes, and lift your head a little. You look around and see all kinds of medical equipment. _Oh good now what have I gotten myself into?_ You think to yourself.

A few minutes later you see the door open and an average looking guy walks through, looking at the tablet in his hand, not bothering to glance at you. The man has curly brown hair, and is wearing a blazer and a doctor's coat. He’s a cute guy, kinda on the short side. He has an odd power to him. You clear your throat to get his attention. He jumps and accidentally drops the tablet in his hand. He whirls around to look at you, and his jaw drops. After a moment he says,

“Friday please alert Steve and Tony that our patient is awake.” He takes a step towards you, you tense up in defense. He steps back and puts his hands up in a calming gesture.

“Hi, I am doctor Bruce Banner, I was the one who patched you up after you got shot. Do you remember being shot?” he asks in a reassuring tone.

“Yes.” You say curtly, “Who were you talking to a second ago?”

“Oh Friday, she’s the Towers AI, our artificial inte...”

“Artificial intelligence” you cut him off, “I know what an AI is.”

“Good...” He says while glancing at the door he came through. “I was alerting our team leaders that you are awake, so that they can come ask you a few questions.”

“Why do you keep looking at the door?” _Because he’s scared of you, as he should be, you're a monster._

“Do you know where you are” _Why did he dodge my question?_

“No, you didn't answer my question.” you ask, you're starting to get annoyed, and you're voice is a reflection of that.

“You are in The Avengers Compound we took you from the hydra base you were in.” _Took me, what do you mean took me?_ That is when you finally look over and notice that your arms are chained to the bed, and that you are your natural purple color.

“Why the hell am I chained up! Wait, Compound?? I’m in the Avengers lair?!?” _Oh shit they got me, they are going to experiment on me just like hydra did. I never got out!_ You start to hyperventilate, and shake. 

“Friday tell Steve to get here now!” Bruce barks to the ceiling before rushing to your side. “I am going to give you something to relax, okay?” “You're going to be fine” He says as he pulls out a needle with clear liquid in it.

This only makes you hyperventilate more, throwing you into a complete panic attack, you thrash against your restraints and shift erratically. You scream as the needle goes in your arm. Bruce's face pales  
and tenses up.

The door bursts open to the muscular blond man from the coffee shop, running through, and a shorter brunet man with a goatee runs in after him.

“Bruce what is going on?!?” The blond man says forceful.

“She started breathing hard and shaking, then when I gave her a tranquiliser she screamed and started changing like she is now...” Bruce says while backing away from you.

You continue breathing hard and shifting for a few moments, until you feel the drugs start to work, and you relax. You stop shifting as the cute redhead from the coffee shop. _He didn't try to kill me…? Who are these people? Why am I here? Where is the guy I took a bullet for?_

All these thoughts hurtle through your head as the three men stare at you. You finally notice them blatantly staring at you, and ask, 

“Who are you people? Why am I here? And what the hell are you staring at?” You're scared, and angry, and hoping they can't tell.

They stand there in silence, before the cute blond from the coffee shop says,

“I am Steve Rogers, this is Tony Stark, and I'm sure Bruce has already introduced himself. You are here because you threw yourself in front of my best friend, before he was about to be shot in the back by a sniper. And because you saved an Avenger in a Hydra base. So understandably, we have a few questions for you. And my friend would have killed me if I hadn’t taken you here for medical treatment.” _I saved an Avenger? These are the avengers? Oh My LANTA! Who did I save?_ All these thoughts bounce around your head at painful speeds, making you lean your head back onto the pillow.

“Are you okay?” Bruce asks and takes a step towards you to help.

“I’m fine, just a normal headache, too many things happening at once” you say, then look up at him and give him a hint of a smile.

“We’ll let you rest a little more before asking our questions, but when we do, we expect you to answer all of them. And as for why we are staring at you, it's because you look like a friend of ours.” Steve says to you as he also takes a cautions step towards you.

“Let me guess, Natasha Romanoff?” You say with humor in your voice, sadness and pain in your eyes, remembering the name The Trench Coat British guy called you.

“How did you know?” The man Steve introduced as Tony asks.

“I’ll tell you later, right now I'm about to fall asleep with my eyes open, so I would appreciate some privacy so I can try and sleep peacefully.” You slurred out with sass.

“We’ll leave you for now, we will check back up on you when you wake up, and hopefully you will be able to give us some answers.” Steve states. He then turns to Tony and motions for him to leave. They slowly file out until it's only Bruce.

“Try and sleep well, the tranquillizer I gave you should help, sorry I freaked you out with the needle.” He says giving you a small apologetic smile, then turns off the light and leaves before you can say anything else.

 _What in the galaxy did I get myself into... If only I had shifted into ANYONE else, I could be back at the coffee shop with Lilly right now, laughing at her dumb jokes._  


Little did you know that shifting into Natasha Romanoff was the best decision of your whole life.

**Time Skip**

You dream of your life in the hydra base, everything is tinted red. You see flashes of faces, good and bad. You see yourself training with another mutant, you knock him to the ground and put him in a headlock. The scene changes, you see yourself strapped to a table, with the Trench Coat British guy smiling over you as you scream. It changes again, you see yourself crying in a ball, in the corner of your cell, trying to keep warm. It changes again, you see the goons kicking you on the floor, after your first escape attempt.

All of these memories scream through your head, until suddenly they come to a stop on one image. The man with the metal arm being shot in the back, because you can't reach him in time. You run to him as he falls. You catch him before he hits the ground, and lower him the rest of the way to the ground. You roll him over to look at his face, but when you roll him over, instead of his face being there, its Mr. British. You scream and try to push him off you, but he grabs you and pulls out a gun, he shoots you in the chest and laughs. You fall backwards, but instead of hitting the floor, you fall through it, into complete darkness. It feels like you fall forever.

You wake up screaming, clutching at the blankets. Your eyes dart around the room, trying to figure out where you are. You see medical equipment, and hear a heart rate monitor beeping next to you. You remember, you're in the Avengers Compound, they saved you from Hydra. You relax into the bed and breath.

 _What time is it?_ You think, you look around again, now that you've calmed down. You see a huge window at the end of the room. Outside the window are trees, and a black sky, full of stars. _So it's still night, how long was I asleep for?_ You sit up so you can see out the window better. You see a lake, and some lights below you. _So I’m not on the ground floor, it's pretty here, quiet._ You look away from the window and down at yourself, and notice that you aren't Natasha anymore, instead you’re a man, with hairy arms.

You gingerly try to spin your legs to the left, to dangle off the bed. It takes some effort, and a lot of pain, but you manage to sit on the edge of the bed. You start to slip off, so your feet touch the floor, then put a little pressure on them. Causing you to whimper in pain, but you push through it, as you've always done. You finally manage to stand on your own two legs, you look down to notice that your legs are hairy too, under the hospital gown. You also notice that there is a IV coming out of your hand, with a tube leading to a saline drip hooked on a metal rod on wheels.

You hold onto the rod for support, and take a step towards the window. But the heart rate monitor hooked to your finger stops you, you quickly pull it off, causing the monitor to have one long beeeeep, then power off. _That will probably bite me in the ass later, but I need to see out the window._ You slowly make your way to the window, each step a struggle. But you make it to the window, when you look out, you notice the trucks driving below you. 

You look up and see the stars, they are beautiful tonight. Your eyes feel odd, so you close them, and rub them with the back of your hand, and when you open them again to look at the stars, suddenly you can see so many many more, you can see the sky as if we didn't have any pollution, or even an atmosphere. You can see the milky way, the whole galaxy. It's the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Your eyes well up with tears, causing the stars to merge together, and yet, it's no less beautiful. You’re so busy looking up, you don't even notice that somebody else has entered the room.

“It's beautiful here isn't it?” Says a voice behind you. You squeak and whirl around, causing you to almost fall, and be in excruciating pain. The person rushes towards you trying to help, you look with anger in your eyes, ready to fight. But what you find is a concerned Dr. Banner, giving you the most confusing face. Your eyes soften, seeing that there is no immediate threat. You gain your balance, and stand on your own, shrugging off his hands, which you hadn't noticed before. 

“It's not nice to scare people when they are zoned out.” You say in a fake scolding voice. But he just keeps looking at you with a weird face. “What's wrong Dr. Banner?”

“Hm? Oh, I'm just not used to walking into a room to find that I'm already in it.” He says with a little smile.

“What?” _Is he a little crazy?_

“Oh you don't know, you're not Nat anymore, now you're me. It's a little jarring. You can call me Bruce by the way.” He says looking you up and down.

 _Oh, I shifted into him in my sleep. So he's not crazy, probably._ “Oh! Sorry, when I dream I shift, and I must have shifted into you. Sorry.” you say then look at the floor in embarrassment.

“Nothing to be sorry about, but how do you look exactly like me, you even have my birthmark on your knee.” he says with a puzzled look.

“Oh, when I see someone, I can copy their face, their size, and any other characteristic I can see. But in your case, when I touch someone, or they touch me, I can become a perfect duplicate of them, I think it has to do with DNA or something.”

“Oh. But I didn't touch you?” he said with a puzzled expression.

“When you put the needle in my arm you did. I can shift into someone else if it's making you uncomfortable?” you say shyly, talking about your powers is always weird.

“It's fine, as long as you're comfortable.” he quickly reassures you.

“Cool.” you think for a moment before asking, “What are you doing in here so late?”

“Oh that, um, I told Friday to alert me if you woke up, so you wouldn't be scared. On that note, you really should lay back down.” he says in a quiet tone.

“You did that for me?” Confused as to why he would want to do this for a stranger. You start making your way back to your bed, leaning on the pole.

“Well yeah, you are my patient.” he says walking next to you. Suddenly your left leg decides it's time for a nap, and you start falling with a yelp. Bruce catches you with surprising strength. _How did he catch me so quick?_ He helps you back to your bed, and you lay back down.

“Thank you, I don't know what happened, my leg just quit working.”

“No harm done. Are you alright, any pain?” he asks sitting at the end of your bed.

“I mean the bullet wound in my chest hurts, but the weird part is, it should hurt more. How long has it been since I got shot?” you ask, looking him in the eyes. _His eyes are a very nice deep brown, with some bright green near the iris. Odd._

“It's been 3 days, but your wounds are healing at an accelerated rate, it looks like you got shot 3 weeks ago. Is that part of your powers?” he asks leaning towards you

“Not last time I checked!” you say starting to worry about what Hydra did to you there.

“Ok, we’ll figure out why, but right now, you should sleep. Steve and Tony are going to ask you questions in the morning,” he looks down at his watch, then back up to you, “if you sleep now, you should get about another 6 hours before they come back.” he says in a reassuring tone. _I can see why he's a doctor, he's so kind._

“I don't know if I can go back to sleep, I didn't have the best dreams before.” you say looking down at your hands, they are large, and strong.

“I can give you something to help you sleep better if you like, but only if you're comfortable, I don't want you to have another panic attack.” he says looking at you with concern.

“Will it give me better dreams?” you ask in a small voice, meeting his gaze again.

“Yes, promise, as long as you promise me that you won't have another panic attack?” he asks while standing and walking to a nearby cabinet, and opening it up.

“I think I can manage that.” you say smiling at him. He turns back to you with a small needle, and a band aid in his hand. He walks towards you and says,

“You should lean back, this stuff works quick.” he cleans the area he's about to put the needle in as you lean back. “I will be here in the morning when they ask their questions.”

“Thank you, and thank you for being so nice to me, even though you don't know me.” you say smiling. When he finishes he puts a teenage mutant ninja turtle band aid on your arm. “Really? Teenage mutant ninja turtles?” you ask with a small laugh.

“What? I thought it was appropriate.” he says with a large smile. “Now try and get some sleep, I will see you in the morning.” he says while walking to the door

“Goodnight Bruce, thank you…” you say, your words and thoughts starting to blend together. _He was right about this acting quick…_

“Goodnight.” Bruce says while turning out the lights, he turns and walks out the door, closing it behind him. He walks back to the elevator, taking it to the recreation floor, where the crew quarters are. He walks to his room, and sits on his bed.

“Friday, please alert me when our patient wakes up.” he says then crawls in bed to sleep as well.

“Yes sir.” Friday whispers from the ceiling.

**Back in your room**

You smile to yourself, _Maybe this place isn't so bad, Bruce is nice, I hope they don't think I'm hydra, I hope I'm not hydra……_ *Snore*

**Time Skip,**

You wake up slowly, groggy from the drug Bruce gave you last night. Your eyes are too tired to open, but your mind starts to work. Your instincts tell you something is wrong, someone's in the room. Your eyes pop open and land on a very angry, very tall, very scary, redhead standing at the foot of your bed with her arms crossed, glaring at you.. _Oh shit. Natasha Romanoff!_


	5. Explaining Everything.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to make sense, and many things are explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, depression said "don't write today!" but I pushed through, and here it is. So if it's shit I will probably fix it later. If you see any typos or a sentence that doesn't make sense, please tell me in the comments. And its going to be a little while till chapter 6

Natasha stands over your bed, her arms crossed, glaring down at you. _What did I do? She was much less scary at Puzzles. Is she going to kill me?_ She uncrosses her arms and walks around the bed to the left side of your bed. All you can do is lay there, scared to move, as if she might pounce on you. She continues to glare down at you, unmoving. The door at the foot of your bed opens, and Steve, Bruce and Tony walk through. Natasha turns to look at them, giving them a nob before turning around to walk to the window.

“How are you feeling?” Bruce asks you while picking up the tablet next to your bed to check your vitals. Steve and Tony stand at the foot of your bed, surveying you.

“Feeling better, my chest hurts less today, and the meds you gave me really did help me sleep, no more nightmares.” you tell him with a smile. You look down at yourself, seeing that you are still Bruce. _That might be why Natasha was looking at me so weird._ “I can answer any questions you might have.” you say to Steve.

“Why do you look like Brucy Bear here?” Tony asks you, his eyes flicking between you and Bruce.

“I woke up as him, I usually shift in my sleep, it happens when I dream. I usually feel comfortable in the body I wake up in, unless I wake up from a nightmare, and I am my nightmare. Does that explain it well enough?” you explain shyly, looking from Tony, to Steve, to Bruce, then back to Tony.

“Well enough for right now, thank you” Tony replies, still giving you an odd look. He walks over to the couch to the right of your bed, and sits down.

“I’m just going to jump right in. Who are you, and why did you save my friend?” Steve asks gruffly, crossing his arms, standing like a soldier.

“We’ve met before, I looked a bit different then, my name is Y/N L/N.” At this Steve actually manages to stand a little straighter, everyone in the room seems to stiffen as well. “You came to see me at my job, but I thought you were Hydra, so I ran. I saved your friend, because I recognized him from Puzzles, and I had been following him in the base, watching him take out Hydra goons. When I saw the red dot on his back, it was just instinct.” you look down at your hands, “I jumped in front of him, I knew it was stupid, I should have just shot the snipper, but I knew if I did... he would be dead by the time I was done.” You hadn’t realized that you were blabbering, you zoned out completely. When you finish your story, you zone back in and notice that everyone is staring at you with, pity?

“You are L/N, Y/N L/N?” Steve asks, dropping his hands to his sides, stepping towards you. “Hydra captured you, the day you ran from us at the coffee shop?” he asks earnestly.

“Yes??? Why are you acting like you kicked my puppy? I don't even have a puppy.” you joke, trying to lighten the mood.

“Hydra had you for 6 months?” Tony asks, looking defeated.

“No, they only had me for like a couple weeks, remember, they took me from Puzzles, when I met y’all.” you say with a confused smile.

“Yes, that was 6 months ago.” Steve says confused, he re-crosses his arms over his chest.

“No, no, no. That was only a couple weeks ago. They... they couldn't have had me for 6 months…. They didn't. I, I remember, I woke up on the floor of a cell, it was only a few weeks.” the more you talk, the louder your voice gets, as if you're trying to yell it into existence.

“Y/N, I'm so sorry, that was 6 months ago. Hydra has the capability to wipe short term, and long term memory.” Steve tells you in a calm voice, trying to calm you down. You can barely hear him, your ears are ringing. You stare at the wall, not even looking at it.

“Like they did with the Manchurian Candidate?” Tony asks Steve, standing up from the couch, and walking over to him.

“It could be something similar to what they did to Buck. Also he doesn't like it when you call him that, he doesn't understand the reference, and to be honest, neither do I.” Steve and Tony get lost in their own little conversation, not even noticing that they had shattered something in you.

_They had me for 6 months. I don't know what they did to me, they could have done anything to me. Lilly must think I died. They could have done anything to me. I’ll never know because I've already shifted out of the scars. Oh gods, they just got away with it again._

“Y/N are you okay?” Natasha asks, knocking you out of your thoughts. She walks closer to you, and pulls a chair over to the left of your bed. “I know a lot is happening, and you're confused.” her face softens as she says, “but you are safe now, we’re going to find out what they did to you. Just stay with us, ok?” You nod your head and look over to Bruce, who is standing by the door. He watches you, and when he sees that you're looking at him now, he gives you a reassuring smile, and nods. 

“Boys, would you please snap out of your little conversation, and focus on our guest.” Natasha snaps at Steve and Tony. Their conversation abruptly stops, and they refocus on you.

“Thank you Nat, as we were just asking each other, how did you know yesterday that you were Natasha?” Steve asks you as he regains his soldier composure.

“She’s the reason I got caught by Hydra. When Steve and the brunet came into my coffee shop, I knew I had to run again, so I shifted into her. I had seen her a week or so before and thought she was cute. When I was running I ran right into a man who recognized her, and he took that moment to attack me, and take me back to Hydra, thinking I was you.” you remember, looking over to Natasha. Her guarded composure fell away as you told the story, guilt showing on her face.

“Back?” Tony asks his face drops, pity written all over it. _Gods I hate pity._

“This isn't my first encounter with the evil octopus. They are my least favorite childhood memory, luckily they made sure I don't remember much.” you say sitting up a little, as if to show them that you don't need their pity.

“How did you get out?” Bruce's words are full of, worry, confusion, and like the others, pity. This is the first thing he's said since walking in.

“I don't really remember, my powers started to become a problem when I was ten. Then at twelve I ran away, to make my mom's life easier. It was just me and her, I don't know what happened to my dad, or who he was.” you shake your head, to get the memories of you asking your mom who he was, and her screaming at you, out of your head. “I ran for a long time, or at least a long time for a kid. Then one night I fell asleep at a shelter for the night, and I woke up strapped to a table, with needles sticking out of me. They had me for years, they tortured me, physically, mentally, emotionally. I don't know exactly how long they had me for, I just know I was twelve when they got me, and I was sixteen when I got out.” tears are falling down your cheeks, dropping onto your hands in your lap. Natasha puts her hand on yours, and squeezes. You look up to her, and see then she has tears in her eyes too, and empathy, as if, she knew.

“Y/N… I don't even know what to say… I am so sorry…” Steve manages to say, after clearing his throat. He motions for Tony to sit back down on the couch, and he sits next to him. Tony's face is hard as stone, he looks like he’s ready to behead Hydra himself. Bruce looks defeated, like he aged five years in two minutes. They all just sort of sit there, staring at each other, the walls, you. They might be more lost than you right now.

“We're going to find out what happened to you. We are going to help you. You're not Hydra.” Tony states, determination and anger in his words. The anger isn't directed at you, but at the world itself.

“Tony, we can't just say that and make it true, sorry Y/N but we need a little more information, and if you are willing, we need to have Wanda talk to her, see if she is a threat.” Steve says, having finally regained his composure.

“Who is Wanda, and why would she know if I'm a threat more than any of you?” you are so tired of not knowing who or what they are talking about.

“Wanda Maximoff, our resident telepath, she’ll look into your head, see if you're hydra, or if they have a trigger in your head, like they did with Big Bad.” Tony says, in a sarcastic tone, with a hint of anger still in his voice.

“It won't hurt will it?” your question directed to Bruce. You're voice tired, sad, and defeated. You have nothing else to give, or to lose.

“No, no, she won't hurt, she might actually make you feel better. She helps me sometimes, helps me detangle my brain. I think it would be a good idea.” Bruce says reassuringly, turning Doctor Mode back on.

You turn back to Steve “If Bruce thinks it's a good idea, then yes. If she's available right now I would like to get it over with.” your tone is business like, imitating Steve's. 

Steve nods and says “Friday can you please ask Wanda to come to Medical Wing 1.”

“Yes Captain.” Friday says from the ceiling.

“On that note, I think I’ll go play with my new Hydra toys, and give you a little privacy.” Tony jokes as he stands from the couch. He walks over to your bed and squeezes your shoulder. “See you later kid, you'll do great.” he whispers and gives you a wink right before leaving.

“Are you okay with me being here Y/N, or do you want me to leave?” Natasha asks you, clearly wanting to help.

“No! Please stay, you too Bruce.” you blush as you say it, embarrassed to need someone.

“Ok, I can do that.” Natasha says with a smile, she squeezes your hand again, you didn't notice that she was still holding it.

“I’m going to shift, don't freak out, ok?” you ask the whole room. When you get a nod from every person in the room, you start to concentrate. You close your eyes, and see flashes of people, men, women, non-binaries, children. Basically every face that you have shifted into in the past 5 years. _I want something new, someone I haven't been before._ The flashes continue, changing to people you haven't shifted into. You stop at a short non-binary with short brunette hair, that you met at the coffee shop on your first week. They were so nice to you, and looked 21, the age you are. They left a huge tip, and came back every weekend for 2 months. _I miss them, they were so kind to me, and didn't mind when i gave them a peppermint mocha, instead of the latte they asked for._

Your eyes pop open with their image still in your mind. Your focus changes to yourself, you slowly see yourself as them. Your body starts to respond, changing from Bruce, shrinking and turning purple, then becoming the image in your mind. You shake your head a little, getting the image out of your head, and give yourself a closer look. Slim arms and legs, you're shorter than Bruce now.

You shyly look up from your arms, to the faces around you. Steve and Natasha look at you in awe, like The Avenger haven't seen something like you before. Bruce smiles at you, having seen you shift before during your panic attack the day before.

A moment later there is a soft knock on the door. Steve manages to pry his eyes from you, and close his mouth. He turns and walks to the door, opening it to a cute brunette woman. She walks in, _Is she walking, she looks like she's floating._

“Hello, I am Wanda. How are you doing?” she asks in a calm voice. _Her accent is odd, where is she from?_

“Shouldn't you know how I'm doing, Bruce tells me you're a telepath.” you ask snippily, tired of people treating you like a child.

“I like to ask permission first, instead of just invading someone's thoughts.” she explains politely, able to stay calm. 

“Well what is the plan here, are you going to root around in my head, looking at whatever you want?” still being snippy.

“Wanda if she lets you, can you look for any signs of being Hydra, or any triggers Hydra might have left?” Steve asks, starting to pace back and forth.

“If she will let me.” Wanda says with a nod.

“Anything to make you guys believe that I'm not hydra.” you say, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Alrighty, sit back, and try to relax, the more relaxed you are, the easier and quicker it will be for you.” Wanda says, floating over to you. She has a sort of red glow to her. You cross your legs to make room on the bed for her, she floats over, and sits cross legged in front of you. She holds out her hands for you to take, you take her hands, and feel a pulse of energy. A faint red glow starts to emanate from you as well. She frowns a little, and you feel the energy surge into you. Suddenly you feel it in your head, a pushing sensation on your brain. You feel her presence in your brain, a distinct person, it feels like her. You close your eyes trying to concentrate on her.

You both sit there hand in hand, eyes closed, concentrating. Wanda's face hardens, and you are thrown into the memories of being tortured, being stabbed with needles, being beaten, laying on the ground of your cell crying, too worn out to move. Memories of training, being stabbed, shot, having pieces of flesh being cut off of you. Scientists jabbing needles in your eyes, fingers, arm, and spine, taking blood samples. Memories of the Fire blood, every single night, screaming and crying yourself to sleep.

Your eyes snap, right into Wanda's red ones. You realize that both of you are silently sobbing, and her hands have moved from your hands to the sides of your face. The red in her eyes slowly fades, until all you can see is the love and compassion in them. You realize that she has just seen all of the pain you went through. She gives you a sad smile, and the hand on your face moves to wipe away your tears. Her hands move away from your face, back to your hands, squeezing them. She turns her head to look at Steve. 

“They’re not Hydra, and they would be a very valuable asset to our team. And we can help them.” she says with great determination.

“That's all I need to hear. Y/N, are you okay?” Steve asks, finally dropping the Captain America routine.

“No, but I will be.” you say softly, feeling better now that someone knows what you went through.

“Ok, when you heal enough we will get you situated in the crew quarters. And when you are completely healed we will start your training.” Steve says warmly, trying to make you feel better.

“Alright, I'll look forward to it, how long do you think it will be till I'm healed Bruce?” you ask looking over to him for the first time in a while. He looks so sad, when he looks up to you, and puts on a fake smile.

“Usually we would say about three or four months, but based on your exponentially rapid healing, probably 4 or 5 days.” he guesses.

“Alrighty, keep me updated Bruce,” Steve turns back to you, “and I will come check on you when I can. Until then, rest, relax, and try to heal. Anything you need, just ask, okay?” he says, finally acting more like a person, instead of Captain America.

“Well I haven't really eaten in three days, can I get some pasta or something, please?” you ask, practically pleading. You didn't realize you were this hungry until you thought about pasta, and cake.

“Of course. Dinner is soon, and lucky for you, I am on dinner tonight, so i will make you some Sokovian goulash with noodles.” Wanda tells you with a huge smile. “And I’ll have Friday order you some cake.” she whispers to you with a giggle.

“You're a real lifesaver, thank you.” you say squeezing her hands, and absentmindedly fiddling with them.

“Avengers you are needed by Mr. Stark in the conference room.” Friday says from the ceiling.

“Tell Tony we will be right there Friday. We’ll be back soon милий {cutey}” Wanda says, she squeezes your hand again before getting up. Natasha and Wanda stand up, and they both leave with Steve.

“I'll come check on you as soon as I can. I'll send someone to check up on you if I can't.” Bruce says with a smile, then leaves.

_All by myself… they were all so nice, except Steve, but he had to be Mr. Captain America Man, not my friend. I wonder what Tony needed them all for?_

Tony's POV

I hold the file in my hand, staring at it, not fully believing what it says. The other Avengers slowly file into the room, taking their seats, and waiting for Tony to start the meeting he called. 

“Why did you call us here tony?” Sam asks after everyone takes their seats.

“We just found a file, mixed among all the other ones we took from the hydra base we saved Y/N from.” I say, still staring at the open folder.

“And?” Nat asks, tired of waiting.

“It has Y/N’s name on it, so I opened it, trying to find out more about her.” I say, finally looking up from the folder. “It explains just some of the stuff they did to her, saying that this isn’t even everything they did in **one** month. In one month they made her a weapon to rival the Winter Soldier. What did they do in the other five?”

To be continued


End file.
